Nobledark Academy 3: Chosen Hearts

by Laney Powell

  “Hello, Olivia,” I heard.

  I looked up to see Caspian. I jumped up, and practically leaped into his arms. He caught me, surprised, and I kissed him enthusiastically. “I’ve missed you,” I said, a little breathless.

  He laughed, and pulled me back to the bench, settling me on his lap. “And I, you. You look beautiful. There is something within you, something that has made you more…” he stopped, his head tilted, as he stared at me. “More natural. I sense an aspect of the wild about you.”

  I smiled, thinking about the conversation I’d had with Althaia and Iliana, about how every siren had a wild side, and they manifested in different ways in accordance with the strengths of each siren. “I’ll tell you, but I want to wait until everyone is here. Then I only have to tell it once.”

  “Okay, as long as you share it. I’m burning with curiosity.” Caspian didn’t look like he was burning with anything, although sitting on his lap, I could tell that he had, in fact missed me, and had enjoyed our kissing as much as I did. He was dressed for the human world, in faded jeans, and a gray tee shirt. His long blond hair was pulled back, tied with a leather thong. He looked delicious.

  How long had it been since we’d been together? Too long, even though we’d only been out of school for a couple of weeks. Too damn long.

  Then I heard a wolf whistle, and Silas jogged up to where we sat. “Got here early to get some private time?” Silas asked Caspian.

  I got up to hug him, and he kissed me gently on the mouth, whispering, “I could eat you up right now.”

  “I could let you,” I said, my cheeks heating at the thoughts his words brought.

  “Oh, you’re into exhibition?” Silas looked around, and then at me hopefully.

  “Stop,” I said, putting an arm around him and pulling him down to sit with me and Caspian. “How are things with your parents?”

  “They’re all right. My dad told me he was impressed with you. I knew he would be,” Silas said. “It takes a strong female to bring more than one strong male to her side.”

  “I’m not a wolf,” Caspian said.

  “More’s the pity,” Silas shot back. And they both laughed like loons.

  Obviously, they had some sort of joke I didn’t understand. I didn’t mind. I loved the relationship the guys had with each other. They liked each other, and it allowed me to have a separate, intimate complete relationship with all of them. I couldn’t imagine if they didn’t get along, and that made me think of Raven. When I’d first asked her about having more than one boyfriend, she’d told me that one of her boyfriends hadn’t been keen on sharing, or the other guys. A shadow of pain had crossed her face. But she said he’d come around.

  Hadn’t I experienced something of the same, though? When Caspian turned me—turned us—down? I’d felt heartbroken, like a part of me had been ripped away, because I knew he was supposed to be with us.

  Thankfully, he’d changed his mind, and now, we were all together. It was as it was supposed to be.

  “Wow, you are getting the party started without us,” Matty said as he and Jake came to a stop in front of where we were sitting. I hugged and kissed both of them, attracting some odd looks from the humans around us, but I didn’t care. It was gorgeous out today, I was with my guys, and for the moment, all was right with my world.

  “There’s a wooded area where I think we can practice in private,” I said, getting up and walking down a path that would lead us close to the Harlem River. The Harlem River side tended to be less populated, for whatever reason.

  We talked as we walked, and then I turned off the path and followed a small, narrow trail. It opened up to a little clearing close to the edge of a cliff. We were hidden from the path, as well as from the people down along the paths nearer to the river.

  “Okay, what did you have in mind?” Silas asked me.

  “I think we should start with something simple. All of us are different elementals, and so we’re all going to have a spell we like best that won’t be like anyone else’s.” I’d been thinking about this. “So why don’t we teach each other our favorite spell, and then we’ll have five spells that we all know how to use as a team?”

  “Well, that sounds great,” Jake said. “But there’s one thing that needs to happen first,” he added.

  “What’s that?” I asked, wondering what I’d forgotten.

  He swooped in next to me, picked me up and held me to him, and kissed me like we were both about to die.

  I let myself fall into him, let him hold me, let my body mold to his, and kissed him right back. After my experience in the Mother’s cave, I was dying to see how sex felt. Iliana had been right. It had taken me a few days to get used to all the stimuli I was now aware of. And being around the guys made me feel even more desperate to be alone with them. I’d been ignoring it, but here, in the privacy of the woods, I didn’t want to anymore.

  My legs went around his waist, and I could feel his hard cock. He was ready. So was I. His hands cupped my butt, and I sighed into his kiss.

  “A-hem.” I heard an exaggerated clearing of a throat.

  Silas, along with Matty and Caspian, were all glaring. “You know, we’re all frothing at the bit to do the same thing, but you need to keep your shit together, Jake.”

  “It’s totally together,” Jake said cheerfully, letting me slide down next to him until my feet were on the ground. “I just wanted to say hello properly to my girl. Sorry you guys don’t have the same drive,” he smiled even more broadly, and kissed my nose. “I am so glad to see you,” he whispered.

  I kissed him quickly, and then turned back to the guys. “Okay, then who wants to go first?”

  “I want to learn your hot water spell,” Silas said. “You burned the shit out of me.”

  “Aw, did you have a bald spot?” Jake teased him.

  But we worked on the spell, sending it toward the ground so that it would run off down to the river. Plus, I didn’t think it would go over well if people were seeing geysers of water shooting up from the trees. That would blow our cover for sure.

  None of the guys were as good as me, but we found when they cast the spell together, and then I joined them last, the spell had a greater potency.

  “So maybe whoever’s specialty it is needs to come in last,” Caspian said. “This is going to take some practice.”

  We all nodded.

  Then Silas hit Jake with a ball of water.

  “Hey, jackass,” Jake yelled.

  Silas came close to me and swooped me up in his arms. “Well, hello, fair maiden.” Then he kissed me, and I felt like my body was going to go up in flames. Being around water, and the guys—I was going to die. There were several methods—burst into flames, melt into a puddle—it just depended. They were so hot, and I was missing them, and their touch.

  His hand squeezed my butt, while his mouth thoroughly explored mine.

  “Hey, ease up,” Matty’s voice was close by.

  Silas ignored him, but then jumped, nearly dropping me.

  “I’ll take her,” Matty said, snatching me away from Silas.

  “I am not a rugby ball,” I yelled.

  That made all four of them, even Caspian, roar with laughter.

  Matty set me down on my feet and cupped my face in his hand, kissing me until I was breathless. When he let me go, I couldn’t speak.

  “I feel better now,” he grinned. “How about you?”

  “How am I supposed to concentrate when you keep kissing me?” I gasped.

  “I don’t know, but we should probably practice a bit more,” Caspian said. He grabbed me around the waist and twirled me. “I love being here in the woods with you, even this place, which is crying out for help,” he said, and then pushed my hair, which had fallen out of my bun and into my face, off to the side. “You look beautiful.” And he kissed me as well, his tongue darting in my mouth, making me see small silver stars. I wondered if it was just him, or the effect of four beautiful men making my hormones crazy.

>   “Let’s take a break,” Matty said. “Because I think Olivia has a story to tell.”

  They all collapsed onto the ground.

  “Damn, didn’t anyone think to bring a snack?” Jake asked.

  Caspian rolled his eyes, looked around, and then murmured something in what I thought was the fae language. A knapsack appeared at his feet, and he began pulling food out of it. Bottles of water, fruit, sandwiches.

  “Thanks, Caspian,” Silas said.

  “I don’t know why everyone forgets we’re magic at times like these,” Caspian said.

  “Well,” Jake spoke up after he swallowed a bite of his sandwich, “We’re in the human world, and we’re used to keeping our magic hidden.”

  “There’s no one here but us,” Caspian said. “Look around.”

  “You never know. Humans are everywhere,” Silas said, his tone serious.

  “Stop!” Matty held out his hands. “Let’s not get distracted. What’s been going on, Olivia. I felt it when I kissed you. You’re different. Not in a bad way,” he hastened to add. “In fact, I think it’s pretty great,” he said, and the tips of his ears went red.

  Everyone looked at him.

  “What? Come on, I know you guys felt it too,” he said.

  After a moment, Silas, Caspian, and Jake all nodded.

  “Okay, so what happened in Greece?” Matty asked.

  All of them turned to me, waiting for an answer.

  Chapter Nine

  Olivia

  I held up a hand, trying to gather my thoughts. “I discovered my siren side,” I said, not sure where to begin. “And it sounds so simple, but it’s not.” I stopped, trying to think.

  Then I told them about portaling there, and how beautiful the house on Kythira was, surrounded by water on all sides.

  About the Mother’s cave, and I could hear the dreamy tone in my voice as I told it.

  “You were drugged,” Silas said.

  “Maybe,” I said. “I think it was the power in her blood. Althaia told me that I was now able to tap into all the other women before me, going back to the first.” I told them about being able to shift, which made the questions fly fast and furious.

  “I really want to see that,” Jake said.

  “It’s beautiful,” I said. “But when I first saw it, I started to cry that I looked like a fucking goldfish.”

  They laughed.

  “I’m a lot more comfortable now,” I said. “And I am a lot happier. This feels… it feels better. I feel like even though the rest of the world isn’t very welcoming toward sirens, it’s okay. I have a place where I’m safe. Speaking of which, my grandfather, Jeno, he wants to meet you.”

  “Why?” Matty asked.

  I laughed, remembering Jeno’s words. “He said that it’s not only an honor to be a Karidias, but that there are responsibilities that must be met, and he would like to help you all.”

  “That’s actually pretty great,” Jake said.

  “Let’s try to go this summer,” Silas said.

  I shook my head. “No. I think that Iliana is going to have to be there.” I told them about the agents coming to look for her this morning.

  “And you waited all this time to tell us?” Matty asked.

  “I forgot. In all fairness, I was overwhelmed to be with you all.”

  “This is not good,” Silas said.

  “No, it isn’t,” I agreed. “The two guys gave me the creeps. I texted her when I got here, and I haven’t looked at the phone since. She doesn’t have her phone on all the time, so she’ll see it sometime today. But this means that she won’t be able to meet your parents,” I said to Caspian.

  “It will be all right,” Caspian replied, even though his face said otherwise.

  We finished eating, and then Caspian made the knapsack disappear.

  “How come you don’t know any useful spells like that?” Silas asked Matty. “That would be a good one to learn.”

  “Back atcha,” Matty said lazily. “Should we practice some more?”

  “I need to return,” Caspian said. His face was troubled.

  I got up, cupping his cheek with my hand. “What is it?”

  “I don’t lie to my parents. I have to tell them what you shared with us. It will not improve matters,” he said.

  “You know we’re here, all of us,” I gestured around at the four of us, “Are here if you need us.”

  “I know, and I’m glad. I don’t have a good feeling about this,” Caspian said.

  “I haven’t had a really good feeling about any of this overall since the beginning of last term,” I said. “Well, then I’ll see you guys at Caspian’s, and we should try to keep practicing over the summer. We need to be ready,” I said.

  “For what?” Four voices asked at once.

  I told them then what Iliana said. That once we found Violet, things would happen fast.

  “I keep forgetting that we have to locate her somehow,” Jake said. “It feels like there is a shit ton going on.”

  “There is,” Silas said. “But I think we should leave Violet to Iliana right now. She has the ability to go looking for her. We don’t.”

  No one spoke immediately.

  “He’s right,” I said. “I think us getting our magic in tune with one another is more important. I keep looking for places for Iliana. I can text her when I get a list together, and then she has places to check out.”

  “It feels like we should be doing more,” Matty said, his hands on his hips as he frowned.

  “Like what?” Jake asked.

  “Maybe how to defeat a demon,” Caspian suggested. “That is part of what is going to happen, isn’t it?”

  “When we have the six sirens, mothers and daughters, we will be able to do that,” I said with a confidence I didn’t feel one hundred percent.

  “Well, until that happens, we need something more than that,” Caspian said. “So all of us need to come up with a spell, and teach it to each other, to help fight him off.”

  “It would be great if we could kill him,” I said.

  They all looked at me.

  “A little bloodthirsty,” Silas said.

  “What? He’s never going to stop,” I said. “Never. The only way he stops is when we lock his butt in Hell or he dies.”

  “Can demons even die?”

  “Let’s find out,” Caspian said.

  We talked for a few more minutes, dividing up research tasks.

  “I am sorry, but I must go,” Caspian said, his expression showing signs of stress.

  “Okay,” I said. I wrapped my arms around him, and kissed him. “Thank you. For everything. I miss you already, and I can’t wait to come and see you.”

  He nodded, and then opened a portal and was gone.

  “Something’s really off there,” Jake said, watching where the portal had been.

  “I told you. Fae don’t like to be involved in human shit,” Silas said. “I’ll bet he’s getting an ass chewing daily.”

  “I hope not,” I said.

  After I kissed the three of them, they insisted on waiting until I opened a portal and stepped through. The last thing I saw was the three of them smiling at me.

  And even with all that we faced, I thought, it can’t be all bad. Not with them on my side.

  I just hoped that my poor Caspian was all right.

  Over the next two days, I video chatted with Matty, Silas, and Jake. Caspian wasn’t answering his phone. The night before we were scheduled to go to the fae realm, I was in my room, going over the dusty books again, when the doorbell chimed.

  I heard my mom get up, and I went to the door of my room.

  She opened the door, and Caspian stood in the doorway. His face was more forlorn than I’d ever seen him, and showed a pain so fresh, so deep, that it nearly made me cry.

  “Caspian, what’s wrong?” I hurried to him, trying to inspect him. I didn’t see any blood, but maybe—

  “My parents have banished me,” he said quietly, so qu
ietly that I almost didn’t hear him.

  “What?” I gasped.

  I heard my mom’s intake of breath behind me.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “I told you. I do not lie to them. I told them of the latest developments, of the Concilium agents seeking your mother, and my mother was so upset she had a vision.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “She’s a seer. There are many seers among the fae. I’m not one, but that particular gift is strong on my mother’s side of the family.”

  “What did she see?”

  “We were in her private garden, just the three of us. She dropped down onto her bench, and then she slumped over. My father leaped to catch her, holding her in his lap. Her eyes were fluttering, and then they opened wide and looked right at me.” He closed his eyes, and his lips thinned, I guess seeing in his head again. “She said, slowly and clearly, ‘You have a chance. Only one. Miss that chance, and all is gone. You will be lost. They all will be lost.’ She repeated herself once more, and then she completely collapsed into my father’s lap.”

  I took Caspian’s hand and led him to the couch. “Sit down,” I said.

  “I’ll make tea,” Mom said.

  “That would be wonderful,” Caspian said. He let his head fall back against the couch, his eyes closed and the pain radiating off of him.

  I pulled out my phone and opened the group chat. Caspian here. We’re both okay, but this is a 911. Update as soon as I hear it all.

  Whatever was coming next, I knew, in my bones, that this wouldn’t be good.

  I took his hand in mine, holding it between both hands, and snuggled up to him. He put his arm around me, and let his head rest against mine.

  “What happened next?” I asked quietly.

  I noticed that Dad had come out of his office, and he and Mom stood close by, not speaking. Mom was worried, and Dad had his arm around her.

  “Father brought her to her room, and called for our healer. After Vanya came to see her, and made her a tisane, Father asked to see me in his study.” Caspian rubbed his hand across his eyes. “He was looking out of the large window that overlooked the valley below our home. His hands were clasped behind his back. When I came in, he didn’t move. I got closer to where he stood, and he told me to sit down. Once I did, then he turned around.